Page 35 of Vicious Princess
Finally, he steps away from me, and I can breathe easier.Does he have to be such an asshole?
“Next,” Daegel says, his voice full of command that makes my knees weak.
Gods help me survive the next six months of training with him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Astinging pain in my cheek rouses me from sleep. When I open my eyes, I’m met with darkness. I’m in my bunk, the hard mattress under my back.
But I can sense the presence next to me.
My head whips to the side when another blow comes. I grunt and cover my burning cheek. “Wha?—”
A hand claps over my mouth, painfully digging into my skin.
Something isverywrong here.
I punch my attacker, catching them in the side. Hard muscles. They grunt, but don’t let go of me. A pair of hands wraps around my ankles and pulls.
Painfully, I land on my side on the hard floor. My temple hits the stone, and sharp pain shoots through my head. I kick my legs, trying to get rid of whoever is holding my ankles.
To no avail.
The hands are gone, but in their place rough jute ropes appear. I hiss when they tighten around my ankles. Despite the pain in my temple and side, I sit down to push my attackers away.
I manage to get a few punches in before they seize my wrists and pull them behind my back hard enough that I think my arms might pop out of their sockets.
A hand around my mouth prevents me from screaming for help. I’m not sure that even if I did, anyone would answer.
I’m all alone here.
Once my hands are secured with ropes, the hand over my mouth is gone. Before I can scream, they stuff a dirty cloth in my mouth. Then my attackers pull me up and toss me over a large shoulder.
When they carry me outside the barracks, I realize it’s the middle of the night. Everyone is sound asleep.
The full moon hangs heavy above out heads, lighting up the square. The only sounds are the melancholic chirps of night birds somewhere in the distance and the rushing water of the fountain.
That’s where they take me.
My attacker tosses me off their shoulder onto the hard stone ground like a sack of potatoes. My bones rattle from impact. I’ll have so many bruises, maybe even cracked bones after this…
I count four attackers. All dressed in black leathers, wearing black hoods with cutouts for their eyes and mouths. As if that can hide them. The moment one of them speaks, I know exactly who it is.
“Time for a little lesson, princess,” Bloom says, her voice full of wicked amusement.
I glare at her, unable to say anything because of the damn cloth stuffed inside my mouth. But that’s not an issue for them. They’re not here to hear me.
The first kick to my stomach forces me to curl up. Bile rises up my throat. I try to get my hands out of the ropes, but they’re too tight. The harder I pull, the more they chafe against my skin.
I manage to turn so that the second kick catches my side instead. I grunt and close my eyes.
“Enough,” says another familiar voice.The damn redhead.
My fellow cadets back off. I struggle to breathe, my core and ribs aching.
She limps forwards, closer to me, but she doesn’t squat. The wound from my arrow on her thigh hasn’t healed yet, despite her fae heritage.
Her voice is soaked in malice when she says, “I don’t know what winds dragged you here to Ekios, nor what sort of delusion gave you the confidence to join Ezkai Academy and train to be one ofus. But let us make one thing very clear for you.”
